Kindle Fire & the Furby App

Hey everybody! There’s a lot of talk about the Kindle Fire (the HD, the HDX etc etc) and the Furby Apps. So much in fact I wanted to write this article to clarify things as much as possible. If I’m missing anything, or any of you believe I have any facts wrong, please comment! We are all here to help one another out. I wish there was more time before Christmas to help many of you with your buying decisions! One last note, please vote on the poll attached to this article so we can get a better idea of which devices are giving the most problems.

Hasbro is getting a lot of blame for not making the Furby App available for the Kindle, but the truth is there is an app for the Kindle Fire HD in the Amazon app store. The problem is, there are several versions of the Kindle Fire and a few of those just don’t have the necessary hardware that is needed to work with the Furby app. There are a couple of newer Kindle HD models that technically should be working with the Furby app but are reportedly not.

I’m sure you’ve seen the words “Some devices wont work with the Furby app because of hardware limitations”. It should read “limitation”, that being no Microphone. When you use the Furby app, you may sometimes hear a high pitched tone, this tone is part of a process called “audio watermarking” (or digital chirp technology) in short, its how your device communicates with the Furby (and the Furbies to each other). If your device (Such as a a few of the Kindle Fire Models) does not have a microphone built in then it will not “hear” your Furby trying to communicate with it. Additionally, when the app tries to start, it may see that there’s no microphone and just crash.

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Versions of Kindle:

Original Kindle: There are probably several reasons the original Kindle won’t work with the Furby app, but the obvious one is that there’s no Microphone.

Kindle Fire 2nd Generation: Same thing, no Microphone.

Kindle Fire HD 7″ (2nd Gen): This one has a mic and has been reported to be the most successful at running the Furby Apps.

Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ (2nd Gen): This one also has a mic and has been reported to work with the apps.

Kindle Fire HD 7″ (3rd Gen): This is where things get a little confusing. This model has taken a step backward. No Microphone. (so no Furby app). This may be a lower cost alternative, as it also lost the front facing camera and possibly more.

Kindle Fire HDX 7″ (3rd Gen) – Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ (3rd Gen) – It seems that these two models both have the hardware to successfully run the Furby app., although I’m seeing posts from some of you that its not working? I’m considering these last two to be questionable until we have more time to try them out.

If you have a Kindle (of any model) and a Furby, try it out, comment what exactly happens if it fails, or let us know if its working for you. This is where our Furby community can come together and figure out headaches like these! I wish you all the best and hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! -Eric (Admin)

28 Comments »

I don’t know if it works on the Kindle Fire HDX 7″ 3rd Gen b/c I can’t download the app. Amazon says it is not compatible with my devices. (Yes – I have two.) Is there another way to download the app and try it out?

oooh thats interesting.. I don’t know of another place to get the app. Once I get enough responses to the voting poll in this article, I’m going to share it with Hasbro to see if there are any solutions to this problem. It may be an Amazon problem though too.

Tried loading the Furby app this evening on my daughters Kindle fire HDX 7″, but it states that it is not compatible. I did just load it on my Kindle,Fire HD, and it does load successfully. I am hoping it is possible to make it work, or my daughter will have to play with her new Furby without the extras that come with the app.

We got the girls the new HDX and it says it’s not a compatible app. I’m thinking of installing on my galaxy 3 instead. If I do this can I switch later once amazon gets this fixed? The amazon feedback is really negative with complaints of the hdx not working with it.

Thanks for the info Nicola, Its apparent that the new Kindle HDx models arent recognized as being compatible for some unknown strange reason. You could try “SideLoading” the app onto your device, or just hang in there until Hasbro gets the app updated.

We have a kindle fire hd 7″ (purchased in June 2013) and a kindle fire hdx 7″ (purchased a few weeks ago). The app downloaded and works on the hd 7″ no problem. As Jill above mentioned, it is not even an option to download for the HDX. I tried going through the web to download it but it say it cannot download because it is incompatible. I would really love for this to be resolved as the furby belongs to the child with the hdx 7″ and we want it on that kindle.

Hi Julie, Yep, there are a lot of angry people that don’t understand why a brand new model of tablet wouldn’t be compatible. It just doesn’t make sense to me either. I have high hopes that Hasbro or Amazon will do something about this.

Hello. My daughter has the kindle fire HD 6. It has a microphone and Bluetooth. How come she can’t download the furry boom app? She asked Santa for the Crystal Furby Boom and her grandparents all chipped in for her tablet. This tablet… and the 7″ version are touted to be the best kids tablet. Please help!

Hi. My son just received Furby boom for his birthday. Has any of the above issues changed? I have a 6 inch new kindle fire and app is not an option. It will work on my old Fire HD which just developed a loose port and now I can’t get it to charge (of course…). I think I need to get a new tablet will the hdx now work or do I need to branch off from kindle??? Thanks!